Paris Events

Major department stores like Printemps go all out for the holiday season. Photo credit: 2015-11-Noel-Actualites-Vitrine-Façade-Printemps

Paris isn’t called the City of Lights for nothing! As the days get shorter and holiday cheer spreads through the shops and streets of the city, shimmering Christmas lights and unique festive decorations go up across Paris. The city’s holiday traditions, from ice skating and carousels to chestnuts and mulled wine, bring Paris’s outdoor spaces to life despite the winter chill. Visit Paris for the holiday season and you can see for yourself!

To help you make sense of Paris’s many wintertime offerings, this guide lays out the city’s can’t-miss experiences for the holidays. For more guidance on choosing the right home away from home, take a look at our furnished apartments in Paris.

1. Christmas Lights in Paris

Paris’s streets are transformed with Christmas lights, full of holiday spirit. Photo credit: Paris-avenue-de-montaigne-fashion-ninara

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Christmas lights blend nicely into the City of Lights during the holiday season.

Frozen in time with its medieval architecture and winding cobblestone streets, Paris feels like a fairytale at any time of the year. Even more so for visitors arriving around the holiday season, when the City of Lights feels more magical than ever! As the city’s sang froid gives way to friendly holiday cheer, you can head to Paris for the holidays and enjoy the best it has to offer.

1. Go Holiday Shopping

Galeries Lafayette does the holidays in style, with a stories-tall tree under its glass dome.

As one of the world’s fashion capitals, Paris has no shortage of high-class department stores for your holiday shopping needs. But more than just retail options, the city’s grands magasins offer window displays for the holidays that are works of art in their own right! Perhaps the most spectacular is Galeries Lafayette, a palatial store famous for the enormous Christmas tree that it hosts yearly under its stained glass dome. Read the entire story here…»

View of the Parisian skyline from the Notre Dame Cathedral.

Paris, France is a city so unique that it offers many opportunities for visitors and locals alike. With the sun shining and the steadiness of the breeze in the summertime, this spectacular city welcomes you with open arms with many seasonal events. Our 2015 summer guide will give you many options for how to spend your time on your trip to Paris in the warmer months.

See Outdoor Movies in Paris

Enjoy the fresh air of summer with an outdoor movie! There is no need to spend an afternoon cooped up in a theater while the weather is so pleasant. The Cinema en Plein Air is an outdoor film festival held in the Prairie du Triangle, within Parc de la Villette from July 22nd to August 23rd. Learn more about this famous open air festival. Another great outdoor film festival is the Cinema au Clair de Lune. Hosted by the Forum des Images, this festival will be held from July 30th to August 10th . This festival rotates around the Arrondissements for 9 nights of free films! Bring some snacks and relax under the stars while watching a classic movie. Discover our vacation rentals in the 19th Arrondissement to keep close to all the action! Read the entire story here…»

The Louvre, the iconic museum that holds Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

While some believe that bringing kids on a vacation could only cause complications, there is no need to fret when planning a Parisian summer getaway. We have compiled the best kid-friendly activities in the bustling city of Paris! Ranging from trips to zoos to beach getaways on the Seine, these fun activities will provide great memories for all children!

1. Visit Paris’ Fairs

Paris has numerous fairs in the summer which provide great activities for those of all ages. The Fête des Tuileries is a traditional fair held in the Tuileries Gardens from late June to late August. This fair has a Ferris wheel, bumper cars, and rollercoasters for everyone in the family. Also, a fair could not be considered a fair without extraordinary food! Specializing in crepes, churros and beignets, this fair will satisfy the sweet tooth of adults and children alike. Check out furnished apartments in the 1st Arrondissement, where this festival takes place. Another Parisian must-see fair is the Fête des Loges, the city’s oldest fair, which can be dated back to 1652. Very similar to the Fête des Tuileries in style, there are many attractions for your little ones such as carnival games and age appropriate roller coasters. What is unique to this fair is its excellent food selection. While the traditional fair food is present, multiple restaurants serve their gourmet dishes for all to enjoy. Read the entire story here…»

See the Christmas tree in the plaza in front of the Notre Dame

The trees have lost their leaves and each morning is now greeted with a dusting of frost. Lights gleam off the lingering ice as the smell of King Cake drifts through the air. Winter is falling over Paris, but the city itself is more active than ever. From holiday markets and ice skating to parties and events, there’s no better time to visit Paris than during the Christmas season.

In this article we’ve covered the most interesting and exciting events in the city, so be sure to let us know what you think!

Holiday Markets:

Holiday markets along the Champs Elysées are a great place to pick up last-minute gifts. Photo: Steve Shupe.

A city in a snow globe, there’s nothing more romantic than roaming the holiday markets in Paris as crisp winter winds ruffle artfully placed hats. Although little markets spring up all over the city, these are some of our favorites.

• As the most iconic street in Paris, the Champs Elysées is a prime attraction during the holiday season. In fact, it’s the only street that makes our list of the Top 10 Must-See Sights in Paris! The Christmas market at the Champs Elysées consists of one hundred chalets from the Vosges region. This arts and crafts market offers a wide selection of gifts and holiday food, including everything from arts and crafts to mulled wine and crepes. It runs from November 14th through January 4th, and be sure to stop by at night to see the Big Wheel illuminated. Read the entire story here…»

Think Paris is best experienced in the summertime or Christmas season? Think again! The French capital is a perfect complement to the changing seasons, so you are guaranteed a wonderful trip no matter what time of year you visit. Here are some of our favorite annual events to guide your itinerary in the City of Light!

International Agricultural Show

and other livestock are the stars of the International Agricultural Show

It’s the largest week-long farm tour you’ll ever experience. Since its origins as the General Agricultural Competition in 1870, the International Agricultural Show has grown to not only showcase France’s livestock, but the best regional, dairy, organic, and wine products from dozens of countries! Four separate sections make up the exhibition: horses, sheep, cows, dogs, cats, and other farm animals; gastronomic delights such as produce and wine; gardens of crops and greenery; and professional discussions on the ever-changing business of agriculture.

In order to accommodate its extensive display, the International Agricultural Show moved to the Porte de Versailles Exhibition Centre and has remained there since 1925. As if in accordance with the approaching spring, the fair is generally held in the last week of February, sometimes encompassing the first few days of March, from 9am to 7pm. Access to the venue is easy via public transportation; the Metro (line 12 has a station called Porte de Versailles), tramway, or bus will get you there! Tickets cost 13€ for adults, 6€ for students and children between the ages of 6 to 12 years old, 9€ for disabled individuals, and free for children under the age of 6. While you’re there, snap a photo with the expo’s current animal ambassador! Read the entire story here…»

The Eiffel Tower and Trocadero fountains during the summer.

It’s that time of year again! The birds are singing, the sky is blue, and Paris is just opening its arms to the crop of tourists and lovers for this year’s summer season. Paris is one of those cities where it’s easy to be lucky in love – but whether you fall for tucked-away art cafés or swoon over watching the Eiffel Tower light up at dusk is up to you. If you’ve something a little more eclectic in mind, read on and let us know what you think about these outside-the-box popular seasonal events!

Watch Outdoor Movies in Paris

Why sit inside a dark, stuffy theater when it’s so pleasant outside? Every year Parisians and visitors alike look forward to summertime outdoor movie screenings throughout the city. Whether you bring a date or a picnic basket (or both!) it won’t take you long to figure out why this is one of Paris’s most eagerly-anticipated activities of the summer.

• Sate your movie-watching cravings with a trip to the famous Cinema en Plein Air. The movie green is easily found in the Parc de la Vilette from July 23rd to August 27th. Tickets are €7 per show or €20 for five shows. There’s a new show every weeknight, drawing from French and American classics like Super 8, The Social Network, Ocean’s Eleven, and Hôtel Woodstock. Read the entire story here…»

A Christmas market near the Eiffel Tower in Paris during Holiday Season. Photo by Jean-Pierre Dalbéra.

Paris is beautiful at any time of the year, but there’s something extra special about visiting the City of Lights during Holiday Season! From mid-November until mid-January, Paris becomes a magical place filled with sparkling lights, outdoor ice-skating rinks and Christmas markets. Furthermore, there’s Christmas shopping at the Galeries Lafayette and an Enchanted Christmas at Disneyland Paris!

In this article, we’ve categorized our favorite holiday season activities, so you can easily create your own travel itinerary for your visit to Paris in the fall or winter of 2013!

Paris Market and Fairs

Paris is known for its many amazing food and antique markets throughout the year. However, come Holiday Season the city steps it up a notch with the Parisian Christmas markets! These amazing outdoor markets feature anything from Christmas gifts to seasonal culinary delights, and can be found all over the city. The following are some of our favorites.

• The Champs Elysées Christmas Market is the largest Christmas market in Paris. It runs from the Place de la Concorde all the way up to the Champs Elysées roundabout. From November 15th to January 5th, you can enjoy mulled wine, roasted chestnuts and more on one of the most famous shopping streets in the world. Of course, this is also a great place to get some serious Christmas shopping done. Have a look at Visit the Champs Elysées in Paris for more information about the shops. Read the entire story here…»

Lounging at the Paris Plage on the right bank of the Seine River

Every year, as temperatures start to soar in Paris, Parisians and tourists alike set out for the Paris Plages. These urban beaches transform certain areas of Paris into sandy summer paradises for a whole month!

A Map of Paris Plages

The first Paris Plage was organized on the banks of the Seine River in 2002 by the mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë. He wanted to give Parisians who were unable to go on a holiday to the seaside the opportunity to experience the beach right in their own city.

The event proved so successful that a new Paris Plage was opened at a location outside the city center, at the Bassin de la Vilette, in 2007, and the general idea of urban beaches has been copied by cities throughout Europe.

This year, the 12th edition of Paris Plages is held. The beaches are opened on 19/20 July and can be visited until 18 August 2013. For 4 weeks during the height of the summer season, you can build sand castles, work on your tan at the deckchairs, and enjoy games of Pétanque.

The beaches are open from 8 am to midnight each day, and they are completely free to visit!

Because the two different locations both have some unique activities, we’ll highlight the Plage on the riverbank and the Plage at the Bassin de la Vilette below. Read the entire story here…»